Fans gather at Hawthorn's Waverley Park training base on September 25, 2008 ahead of the Grand Final. Picture: AFL PhotosFans gather at Hawthorn's Waverley Park training base on September 25, 2008 ahead of the Grand Final. Picture: AFL Photos

The AFL is pleased to announce it has purchased Waverley Park from the Hawthorn Football Club.

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said: "Waverley Park has had a long history in footy, being the first venue to be designed and built specifically for Australian Rules Football.

"The purchase of the ground and facilities is a rare and timely solution that will help with our talent pathways programs, community footy, and umpire development and programs, all of which will now be worked through with the relevant stakeholders.

"The AFL has targeted having 10 million attendees at AFL/AFLW games, events, and festivals, two million AFL club members and one million participants and in order to achieve the target for participation we need two ovals a week every week for the next five years.

"We are always looking for greenspace so we can continue to expand the playing fields we need to accommodate the strong national growth in people playing our game.

"I would like to thank AFL EGM Matthew Chun, Hawthorn CEO Ash Klein and COO Jacob Attwood and the team at Colliers for facilitating this deal that keeps an iconic footy venue in our ecosystem."

A view of Waverley Park during a match between Fitzroy and Carlton in 1990. Picture: AFL Photos


 Key football moments at Waverley Park

  • In its history, 732 AFL/VFL matches were played at Waverley Park, 70 of which were finals and one a Grand Final.
  • Highest score: Fitzroy: 36.22 (238) v Melbourne: 6.12 (48) in round 17, 1979
  • Largest crowd: 92,935, Queen's Birthday (6 June) 1981, Hawthorn v Collingwood
  • Most goals scored in one game: Jason Dunstall, 17 goals, Round 7, 1992, Hawthorn v Richmond
  • The first-ever final played at the ground was also the first-ever elimination final played in VFL/AFL history, played between St Kilda and Essendon in 1972, with St Kilda prevailing 18.16 (124) to 10.11 (71) in front of a crowd of 52,499.
  • The ground hosted Angry Anderson, the Batmobile and the 1991 AFL Grand Final between Hawthorn and West Coast.
  • The last official AFL game was played in 1999 between Hawthorn and Sydney in front of a sell-out crowd of 72,130.
  • The 2000 VFL Grand Final was the last official game of football played at the venue when Sandringham 15.18 (108) defeated North Ballarat 11.11 (77) in front of a sparse crowd of 8,652 people.
  • Hawthorn Football Club set up their training and admin base in 2004 at the ground. 

Waverley Park hosted many special events other than football. 
 
Including:

  • Concerts: Rod Stewart (1979), Kiss (1980), David Bowie (1983), U2 (1998) and Simon & Garfunkel (1983). 
  • A 6 December 1993 concert for Michael Jackson's Dangerous World Tour was cancelled after the tour was cut short.
  • World Series Cricket games between 1977 and 1979.
  • International rules football: Matches between Australia and Ireland.
  • Baseball: Home of the Waverley Reds from 1989 until 1994